In hard-to-reach parts Lesotho, where steep slopes and winding footpaths make every journey a test of endurance, access to healthcare can mean the difference between life and death for expectant mothers.
Moliehi Mohare, 20, knows this all too well. She began her antenatal visits at a clinic closer to her home, unaware that the small facility didn’t offer delivery services. When she learned the nearest health clinic where she could safely give birth was seven hours away, she braved the long, rocky journey through the mountains to reach the Bobete Health Centre’s Maternal Waiting Home, supported by Partners In Health and Alongside Hope.
Upon arrival, Mohare was welcomed by nurses and received a baby starter pack containing a onesie, receiving blanket, hat, cloth diapers and baby shirts. “I didn’t know that Bobete Health Centre provided these things,” she said. “I had brought what I could from home, but it wasn’t enough. I’m really happy and grateful for the support I found here.”
Alongside Hope’s World of Gifts has featured the new baby starter packs for the last three years and they are a favourite gift for donors and churches. During Advent in 2022, St. Andrew’s in Cole Harbour, N.S. raised money to buy new baby kits for the Bobete Clinic. For every $25 that was donated, a diaper was added to a display in the Narthex to encourage donations. At the end of the campaign, the diapers were donated to a local women’s shelter and $2,000 was forwarded to Alongside Hope. You can still support the program at alongsidehope.org/worldofgifts. (Makes a great Mother’s Day gift!).
Like many women in remote communities, Mohare began her antenatal care late, not realizing she was pregnant until six months because her periods had continued. She arrived at Bobete in time to spend the final weeks of her pregnancy at the maternal waiting home, where she and other women received three meals a day and health education from nurses.
Lesotho continues to face one of the world’s highest maternal mortality rates, an estimated 566 deaths per 100,000 live births. Given the challenges of inaccessibility to health care, many women must make a perilous choice between risking childbirth at home or enduring a dangerous journey to reach care.
Thus, Alongside Hope has stepped in with crucial support. Working with Partners In Health (PIH) Lesotho, the project has helped ensure that expectant mothers like Mohare are not left behind. Through the starter pack initiative and covering transportation costs for appointments during the first trimester, pregnant women are not only encouraged to come to Bobete, but this has also extended the reach of the health centre beyond Bobete’s usual catchment area.
Mojaba Mokoena, a registered nurse and midwife at Bobete, says the starter packs have a meaningful impact on the women she cares for. “These packs truly ease their worries,” she explains. “Many arrive anxious because they don’t have enough for their newborns, but receiving these items brings them relief and restores their sense of dignity as they get ready to give birth.”
Alongside Hope’s support reaches beyond supplies, also covering emergency transportation for pregnant women when ambulances aren’t available, and offering beds, mattresses, blankets, and food to those staying at the maternal waiting home. For mothers who must be referred to hospitals for delivery, financial assistance is provided to help cover their costs.
Through this support, Alongside Hope is helping women like Mohare bring life safely into the world, no matter how far or difficult the road may be.
